Barbaro Updates: 189
updates are now here.
Update 1400: While I am sure there will be persistant media coverage over the next few days, I did want to alert you that Jeannine Edwards will be on "Outside the Lines" at 3 pm today on ESPN. She will also be on ESPN News following that broadcast.
It was a chilly morning this morning at Fair Hill, bright sunshine, but a wind that made the temperatures pretty low. I ended up getting on six, five of which went to the Tapeta track. I was actually first on the Tapeta track this morning on Hawty Creek. The track continues to be very good despite the weather. Hawty Creek did two turns at a jog / light gallop. I rode Chesapeake City Slew for Tim, and then three more to the track. One of the keys to keeping warm is wearing plenty of layers (I just counted, nine in my case) ... and jogging to and from the racetrack. Anyway, gate day was canceled today due to the weather, I cannot imagine why a gate crew does not want to come out on a lovely day like today and stand around for a few hours!
OK, likely I may head over to New Bolton at some stage today, but lets keep all our thoughts positive for Barbaro!
Update 1399: The AP is reporting Barbaro did not have a great night: Barbaro has another setback. Relevant excerpt:
When asked Monday morning at the New Bolton Center if Barbaro had a good night, Richardson said, "No, not a great night."
Update 1398: Additional media coverage from saturday's surgery.
NPR's "All Things Considered": Derby Winner Barbaro Still at Risk from Injuries. Allison Keyes interviewed Dr. Richardson (not live), and reported from the interview that Barbaro was bright-eyed, eating carrots out of people's hands yesterday (sunday). She also noted the new brace is likely to be needed for approximately 6 weeks.
CBS News interviewed their vet / reporter Dr. Debbye Turner: Setback in Barbaro's recovery. Interesting but no new information, she does discuss his fighting spirit.
Sandra McKee of The Baltimore Sun: Barbaro receives new foot brace after 'significant setback'. Sandra spoke with Mrs. Jackson for this story on sunday:
"You wish it wasn't happening," Gretchen Jackson said. "But it is."
Jackson said Barbaro's initial injury has resulted in changes in his right leg and in the way he walks on it.
"I guess it has to be an issue," she said. "He has to learn to live with his new leg, and they're trying to help him live with it. But it has created problems. Horses are horses and things happen."
Jackson again said the most important thing is for Barbaro to be pain-free.
"As long as that is the case, we'll go forward," she said. "I visited him twice [yesterday] with a friend, and his eyes were bright and he is still trying to bite you. He's still interested in life.
"They're taking good care of him, and we are staying positive. That's really all you can do."
Richardson said Barbaro "remarkably" continues to have an "excellent attitude and appetite."
Mike Jensen, Philadelphia Inquirer updated his story: Surgery leaves Barbaro at risk after talking to Mr. Jackson on sunday:
After visiting Barbaro yesterday, Roy Jackson said last night: "He appears to be fairly comfortable. He had his three buckets of grass, and is doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances."
At this point, everybody involved is just taking things "day-to-day, hour-to-hour," Jackson said. One positive that he could find about the latest surgery: "If this had happened two months after the [Preakness], the fractures would not have healed enough to do something like that. Thank goodness there's a chance."
And of course this latest setback is news around the world.
Update 1397: Richard Rosenblatt, of the AP, wrote this article today: Barbaro Has Another Significant Setback that includes quotes from Dr. Richardson and Mrs. Jackson:
"When things start to go bad, it's like a house of cards," he said Sunday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "If one thing fails, that puts more stress on another part. And if that fails, then you're stuck with managing two problems. That's why these are difficult cases."
and
"No one is interested in putting the horse through any type of misery," Richardson said. "We're going to treat him the best way we can as long as he stays comfortable. And we're going to stick with that no matter if his chances are 1 percent or 90 percent.
"If he gets to the point where we just don't think it's reasonable to go on, we will not go on."
Gretchen Jackson spent time with Barbaro on Sunday, and said her colt is "still bright-eyed and still eating.
"It's not over 'til it's over," she said. "I'd say he's comfortable and being treated very well. As long as he's comfortable ... Dean knows our feelings. We trust him."
Mrs. Jackson's words are very comforting I think.
Barbaro, however, is somewhat sturdier than a house of cards.
Posted by: Anna in Texas at January 28, 2007 11:48 PM